TANAGER
TANAGER or
TANAGRUS (
Tanagro), a river of Lucania, a tributary of the Silarus.
It rises in the mountains near
Lago Negro, flows for about 30 miles in a NNE. direction, through a broad and level upland valley called the
Valle di Diano, till near
La Polla it sinks into the earth, and emerges again through a cavern at a place thence called
La Pertusa. This peculiarity is mentioned by Pliny, who calls it “fluvius in Atinate campo,” without mentioning its name (
Plin. Nat. 2.103. s. 106, with Harduin‘s note): but this is known to us from Virgil, who notices it in connection with Mount Alburnus, which rises immediately to the W. of it, and the epithet “siccus” which he applies to it ( “sicci ripa Tanagri” ) doubtless refers to this same peculiarity. (
Verg. G. 3.151; Serv.
ad loc.; Vib. Seq. p. 19.)
There is no doubt, also, that in the Itinerary we should read “Ad Tanagrum” for “Ad Tanarum,” a station which it places on the road from Salernum to Nerulum. (
Itin. Ant. p. 109.)
The same Itinerary gives a station “Ad Calorem,” as the next on this line of route, which seems to show that the river was then, as now, called, in the upper part of its course Calor or
Calore, while in the lower part it assumes the name of
Tanagro or
Negro. This part of the route, however, is very confused.
[
E.H.B]
